This meeting will focus specifically on areas of notable advancement and new concept development in smooth muscle, including membrane ion channels, regulation of intracellular calcium involving second messengers, and molecular biology of contractile proteins. We will also provide a special focus for integration of the cell and molecular level research with that at the organismic level by including a session on microcirculation. This combination of focuses in clearly different from the first two Smooth Muscle Conferences, and from any smooth muscle conference that has occurred to date. The meeting will be particularly useful for interaction of scientists working in rapidly developing special focus areas, and will be specifically designed to provide improved dialog among those working in these highly specialized areas. The suggestions of new experiments and refinement of concepts that is likely to occur will importantly advance current knowledge in many areas of smooth muscle research. These discussions are likely to provide increased fundamental understanding that will be translated into development of therapeutic management of the many disease states that occur due to pathophysiology of the microcirculation and other kinds of smooth muscle.